Animals Teaching Resources
Explore animal life in your science classroom with printable worksheets, classroom posters, and more teaching resources all about the different types of animals, their life cycles, characteristics and more!
This teacher-created collection includes a series of animal-focused teacher resources covering reptiles, birds, fish, mammals, and amphibians plus resources that classify a selection of vertebrates and invertebrates!
This comprehensive collection of teaching resources includes editable curriculum-aligned lessons on wildlife, endangered species and more — all ready to be printed and used in the classroom!
New to teaching this section of the science curriculum or looking for some fresh ideas? Read on for some tips on teaching about animal classification from our teacher team!
What Is Animal Classification? A Kid-Friendly Definition
In science class (and in professional study) animals are classified into groups based on physical and genetic characteristics. Scientists use a classification system called the Linnaean system to group different animals into progressively more specific categories, starting with the largest (and most inclusive group) and ending with the smallest and most specific group.
The categories are:
- Kingdom
- Phylum
- Class
- Order
- Family
- Genus
- Species
Helping students to remember these categories of biological animal classification, you might want to use a mnemonic such as:
- King Philip came over from Germany swimming.
- King Philip came over for good spaghetti.
- King Philip came over for good soup.
Sometimes the word "domain" is added to the top of the animal classification list, and in those cases you can add the word "dear" to your mnemonic sentences to help your students recall them all.
In the Linnaean system, every animal in nature is assigned a unique scientific name. The name includes their genus and species and it's used globally to refer to that animal — so, for example, a dog is a dog, but it's also a "canis lupus familiarise" according to its scientific name.
The animal classification system is used all around the world to help scientists understand the relationships between different animals and how they evolved over time.
Teaching About Animal Classification in Elementary School
How in-depth should your lesson planning be for animal classification? In the elementary grades, learning classifications of animals sets the stage for understanding how important this system is when scientists are studying animals in the natural world.
Consider this: In elementary school, students typically learn about the basic categories of animal classification, such as mammals, birds, fish, reptiles, and amphibians.
Your animal classification lessons can extend into learning about specific examples of animals within each category, such as lions and elephants for mammals, and eagles and penguins for birds.
By the time they head off to high school, students should already know the characteristics that define each group — such as the presence of fur or feathers (in birds) or most mammals' ability to give birth to live young. Students should also know about the classification of animals within each group, such as the different types of mammals or birds.
Ready to get started? Explore the resources in this collection!
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Polar Bear Adaptations Reading Comprehension Pack
Learn about the physical adaptations of the polar bear with a set of printable reading comprehension worksheets for 3rd grade.
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Free Desert Animal Adaptations Worksheets - Comprehension
Discover desert animal adaptations with a printable reading comprehension worksheet pack for 3rd grade.
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Desert Animal Adaptations - Trading Card Templates
Discover amazing desert animals’ adaptations and display your learning with printable animal trading card templates.
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Inherited versus Learned Behaviors Poster
Explain the difference between inherited and learned behaviors with a set of printable anchor charts.
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What Could Happen? Environmental Change Task Cards
Predict and identify the effects of environmental change on plants and animals with a set of printable science task cards.
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Rainforest Food Chain - Cut and Paste Worksheet
Create a rainforest food chain to show how energy flows between organisms with this cut-and-paste worksheet.
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Food Chains - Interactive Activity
Review producers, consumers and decomposers in food chains with this interactive digital quiz.
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Producer, Consumer and Decomposer - Sorting Activity
Explore the roles and relationships of producers, consumers and decomposers in food chains with this hands-on sorting activity.
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Food Webs vs. Food Chains – Instructional Slide Deck
Learn the difference between a food chain and a food web with this 18-slide instructional slide deck.
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Informative Writing - Animal Research Task
Use a printable animal research organizer booklet for students to record facts about animals when learning to write informative texts.
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Comparing Baby vs. Adult Features Worksheet
Compare human adults and their babies with a printable Adult vs. Baby Comparison Worksheet.
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What Animals Live in Social Groups? PowerPoint Presentation
Discover what animals live in social groups and why with an engaging interactive Animal Behavior PowerPoint.
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Animal Pollinators Worksheets
Discover animal pollinators like butterflies, bats, and hummingbirds with our printable animal pollination worksheet pack.
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Printable Worksheets About Bees - 2nd Grade
Use our 2nd grade worksheets about bees to discover what there is to know about bees, how they help plants, and how they make honey.
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Animal Classification Chart Activity Pack
Classify mammals, reptiles, birds, and other animal groups with a printable pack of animal classification table worksheets.
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Bird Beak Lab Activity
Discover how birds’ beaks help them find food and survive in the wild with a hands-on Bird Beak Adaptation Lab.
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Inherited vs. Acquired Traits Bingo Game
Understand the difference between inherited and acquired traits by playing a few rounds of Inherited vs. Acquired Traits Bingo!
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Describing Animal Adaptations - Informative Writing Prompt Worksheets
Write to describe animals and their adaptations with a printable pack of informative writing worksheets.
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Animals Around the World - Word Mats
Discover the amazing animals on each continent and encourage global thinking with a pack of printable Animals Around the World Word Mats.
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Inherited and Acquired Characteristics - Worksheet Pack
Determine if animal features and characteristics are inherited or acquired traits with an engaging Animal Traits Cut and Paste Worksheet Pack.
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Would You Rather? Animal Adaptations Game
Discuss and debate the best animal adaptations with the Would You Rather? Animal Adaptation game.
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Roll to Create an Animal - Adaptations Activity
Roll to choose cool animal adaptations for a mystery animal using a fun dice game and report template.
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Three Types of Environmental Adaptations Posters
Teach your students the different types of behavioral, structural and physiological adaptations with a set of 4 printable posters.
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Ocean & Marine Word Wall Vocabulary
64 marine life word wall vocabulary cards.
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Food Webs - Research Project
Explore the food webs that exist in various biomes around the world with this student-centered inquiry task.
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Swamp Food Chain - Cut and Paste Worksheet
Create a swamp food chain to show how energy flows between organisms with this cut-and-paste worksheet.
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Desert Food Chain - Cut and Paste Worksheet
Create a desert food chain to show how energy flows between organisms with this cut-and-paste worksheet.
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Ocean Food Chain - Cut and Paste Worksheet
Create an ocean food chain to show how energy flows between organisms with this cut-and-paste worksheet.
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Producer, Consumer, Decomposer - Comprehension Worksheets
Explore the role of producers, consumers and decomposers within ecosystems with this comprehension task.
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Grassland Biome Food Web - Cut and Paste Worksheet
Challenge students to create a food web and explain how energy flows between organisms with this cut-and-paste worksheet.
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All About Sloths - Animal Life Cycle Worksheets
Help your students learn about sloths using this research project booklet.
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Animal Classification Posters
Display information about birds, mammals, amphibians, fish, and reptiles with this poster pack.